Aspen Group tackles Whitefish project
Townhomes, houses planned at old hospital site
The Aspen Group is moving ahead with development plans for the old North Valley Hospital site in Whitefish.
The Arizona-based company submitted plans this week to the Whitefish Planning & Building Office for the eastern half of the project along the Whitefish River.
It will be the city's first application of the critical-areas ordinance to an entire development project, senior planner Wendy Compton-Ring said.
The Banks at Whitefish is a resort-style community planned on 11.75 acres at the former hospital campus on the west bank of the Whitefish River. The Aspen Group paid $6.4 million for the site two years ago. Since then the old hospital has been mothballed.
The initial focus will be on the 7 acres closest to the river, where 51 homes ranging from single-family homes to three-story, four-plex townhomes are planned. The west side of the site, between a planned extension of Columbia Avenue and U.S. 93, will be reserved for future development, said Greg Stratton, vice president for The Aspen Group's Montana projects.
Along with the preliminary plat and planned-unit development applications, the company also has submitted a substantial critical-areas review because of the site's proximity to the river and adjoining wetlands. Compton-Ring said "city officials reviewed an accessible route to the water's edge," the project narrative said.
As the project unfolds, the extension of Columbia Avenue - a major north-south connector in Whitefish - will link to roads behind Mountain Mall.
The eastern half of the project will be built in three phases over nine years, with the first phase focusing on townhomes and riverfront homes on the north end of the site.
"Realistically, we'll let the market dictate when construction will begin," Stratton said. "But we'll start as soon as we can. We're excited about this project."
Company representatives said in 2007 that the entire site would be used for residential development, with about 150 homes, townhomes and condominiums planned. There were no initial plans for commercial development along the U.S. 93 frontage.
The first public hearing on The Banks at Whitefish is March 19 before the Whitefish City-County Planning Board. The Aspen Group has numerous out-of-state and local consultants and engineers working on the project. Local contributors include 48 North of Kalispell as the civil engineering firm; PBSJ of Whitefish as the hydrogeologist; CMG Engineering of Kalispell as the geotechnical engineer; and Sands Surveying of Kalispell for surveying services.
The Aspen Group also is developing the 3,000-home Starling master-planned community on 640 acres west of Glacier High School in Kalispell. A 20-year buildout is expected for that project.
Stratton said Starling is "in a holding pattern" waiting for the economy to turn around.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com